riffipediafandomcom-20200214-history
Church of Misery
Church of Misery is a doom band from Tokyo, Japan, formed in 1995.Church of Misery Band, accessed 22nd June 2015 The band was formed by Tatsu Mikami, who has been the sole consistent member of the band through several line-ups. The band is notable for its use of serial killers as a lyrical theme (Along with frequent samples related to said serial killers), typically in the perspective of the serial killers' lives and actions. The band also has a knack for using frequent visuals similar to Black Sabbath, such as the Vertigo logo, the devil that appeared in the Dio-era releases and typography similar to the ones used in classic releases. History Church of Misery was formed by Tatsu Mikami, who had previously played bass in the Japanese thrash metal band Legend in 1984, who would become Salem in 1988. After Salem's breakup in 1994Encyclopedia Metallum Church of Misery, accessed June 24th 2015, he decided to start a doom band, influenced by bands such as Black Sabbath and Saint Vitus. In 1995, Mikami (bass) enlisted Tomohiro Nishimura (guitar), Hideki Shimizu (drums) and Kazuhiro Asaeda (vocals) into his band, which became Church of Misery. The band would perform live for the first time on 18 February 1996 at Meguro Live Station in Tokyo, Japan.Leaf Hound Records' Trade Page via Wayback MachineAccessed 6 January 2017 Between the months of April and June 1996, the band recorded a demo, then titled "ADV.1996", for promotional use within the doom scene. Without the permission of the band, Doom Records of USA, unofficially released the demo as Vol. 1. Though the bootleg release of the demo displeased the band, they did gain listeners and support outside of Japan due to its release. Later in 1996, after the recording of "ADV.1996", Asaeda was replaced on vocals by Nobukazu Chow. Church of Misery's first official musical release came in 1998 on Doomsday Recitation. This was a compilation record released by Japanese label, Cornucopia Records, which also featured fellow Japanese doom bands Eternal Elysium, Millarca and Bernice.Discogs Doomsday Recitation, accessed June 26th 2015 Their first solo release also came out the same year, in the form of the EP Taste the Pain, via Bad Acid Records.Discogs Taste the Pain, accessed June 26th 2015 Another release by the band in that year was Born Too Late, a split EP with the Canadian band Sheavy.Discogs Born Too Late, accessed 26th June 2015 With these releases and consistent stage time, predominantly in Tokyo, the band began to carve a reputation in the Japanese metal scene. 1999 saw two releases from the band. Their second EP, Murder CompanyDiscogs Murder Company, accessed June 26th 2015 and a split EP with Iron MonkeyDiscogs We've Learned Nothing/Church of Misery, accessed 26th June 2015 were both released via Man's Ruin Records. In the year 2000, Mikami oversaw a reshuffle of the bands line-up. Chow and Shimizu were replaced by Yoshiaki Negishi on vocals and Junji Narita on drums. As well as this change in a persona came a shift in style; psychedelic elements were introduced to their sound, notably through the use of synthesizers, as well as an aggressive streak, likely due to Negishi's background in hardcore and death metal. Their first full-length studio album, Master of Brutality, was released in 2001 through Southern Lord Recordings.Discogs Master of Brutality, accessed 26th June 2015 Shortly after the release of their debut album, personal reasons forced Nishimura to leave the band. He was replaced on guitar, briefly, by Osamu Hamada and more permanently by Takenori Hoshi. With this line-up, the band released a third EP, Boston Strangler, in 2002 through Kult of NihilowDiscogs Boston Strangler, accessed June 26th 2015 and in 2003 a split release with Acrimony.Discogs Acrimony/Church of Misery, accessed June 26th 2015 In 2004, Negishi left the band citing musical differences and was replaced on vocals by Hideki Fukasawa, formerly of the hardcore punk band Bleed For Pain. Later in the year, they released their second studio album, The Second Coming through Diwphalanx Records.Discogs The Second Coming, accessed 27th June 2015 A compilation of the bands early work was also released in the same year.Discogs Early Works Compilation, accessed 27th June 2015 2004 also marked a significant increase in the bands presence worldwide. The band began to tour outside of Japan in 2005, sharing the stage with bands such as Orange Goblin, Saint Vitus and Electric Wizard in the years that followed. The bands first video release came in 2005, when they appeared on Diwphalanx Records' Wizard's Convention, alongside Greenmachine, Eternal Elysium and Boris.Discogs Wizard's Convention Heavy Showcase, accessed 27th June 2015 Hoshi left the band in 2006 citing personal issues (His last performance with the band was on April 1, 2006.YoutubeAccessed 12th August 2016 and was replaced by Tom Sutton, an Australian guitarist known to the band. Sutton had previously taken part at Church of Misery gigs and therefore could play many of the bands songs as soon as he joined the band. With this lineup, the band released three splits in 2006; the first with Deer CreekDiscogs Church of Misery/Deer Creek, accessed 28th June 2015 and two others with Sourvein.Discogs Church of Misery/Sourvein, accessed 28th June 2015Discogs Sourvein/Church of Misery, accessed 28th June 2015 In 2007, the band officially released Vol. 1 through Leaf Hound RecordsDiscogs Vol. 1, accessed 28th June 2015, the demo which had been released years earlier without their consent. In 2008, the band released their 4th EP, Dennis Nilsen via Kult of Nihilow.Discogs Dennis Nilsen, accessed 28th June 2015 In April of the same year, the band made their first appearance at that years Roadburn Festival.Church of Misery Gig, accessed 28th June 2015 They would go on to perform three more sets over the following two years of Roadburn. The band released their 3rd studio album (4th if Vol. 1 is counted) Houses of the Unholy via Rise Above Records in 2009.Discogs Houses of the Unholy, accessed 28th June 2015 Shortly after the release of this album, Fukasawa left the band in strange circumstances and was replaced by former vocalist Yoshiaki Negishi. With Negishi back in the band, they released their 5th EP Greetings from Jonestown (Consisting on unreleased recordings from The Second Coming sessions.) via A Pile of Dirt Music.Discogs Greetings from Jonestown, accessed 28th June 2015 In 2010 the band released Live at Roadburn 2009 via Roadburn Records.Discogs Live at Roadburn 2009, accessed 28th June 2015 Sutton chose to leave the band in 2010 due to him resettling in England, but stayed for the duration of the Houses of the Unholy Tour so that the band were not struggling to find a replacement. He was replaced on guitar, briefly, by Kensuke Suto who joined them on their European tour, which included a slot at the first ever DesertFest London.The DesertFest Facebook First band announcement of 2012, accessed 16th June 2015 However, upon the end of the tour, Suto and the vocalist Negishi parted ways with the band citing musical differences. The band convinced Hideki Fukasawa to rejoin the band as vocalist and in May 2012 hired Ikuma Kawabe on guitar, with the bands first ever tour of the United States to follow. Towards the end of 2012/beginning of 2013, the band wrote and recorded their 5th studio album, Thy Kingdom Scum. The album was completed on January 26th 2013. The album was released via Rise Above Records and Metal Blade Records. A string of European dates and a second tour of the United States would follow. Three tours of Europe would follow in 2014. On November 3rd 2014, Mikami announced via the bands Facebook page that Hideki Fukasawa had decided to leave the band in September of that year, quickly followed by Junji Narita and Ikuma Kawabe, making Mikami the sole member of the band.Church of Misery Facebook "At the end of September...", accessed 24th June 2015 Later the same day, Mikami confirmed that the band would continue, once new members were found.Church of Misery Facebook "Hi! Thanks for your kind words...", accessed June 24th 2015 In May of 2015, Mikami traveled to Maryland, USA to record Church of Misery's 6th studio album, with Dave Depraved of Blood Farmers on guitar and Eric Little of Earthride on drums.Church of Misery Facebook "The time has come...", accessed 24th June 2015 Eventually, Scott Carlson (Repulsion, Cathedral, Death Breath) would be announced as the vocalist for the next album. Church of Misery's fifth (Or sixth if you count Vol. 1) album And Then There Were None... was released on March 4, 2016. On 24 March 2017, Church of Misery announced on their Facebook "CoM rises again!" with a new lineup. Along with Mikami the lineup consists of vocalist Hiroyuki Takano (Sithter) Psychotoblack), Drummer Junichi Yamamura (Empire) and guitarist Yasuto Muraki.Church of Misery FacebookChurch of Misery rises again!, accessed 24 April 2017 On 15 May 2017 Desertfest Belgium would announce Church of Misery as one of the headliners, the band's first announced show in three years.DesertFest Antwerp FacebookAccessed 15 May 2017 Other dates would trickle in before the band would announce a full European tour on 6 July 2017.Church of Misery FacebookAccessed 6 July 2017 Church of Misery would return to more frequent touring throughout the next few years, notably unveiling two new songs in "Unabomber" and "Hungerford Massacre" at their final show of 2019.The Obelisk Discography Studio Albums *Master of Brutality (2001) *The Second Coming (2004) *Vol. 1 (2007, recorded 1996.) *Houses of the Unholy (2009) *Thy Kingdom Scum (2013) *And Then There Were None... (2016) Extended Plays *Taste the Pain (1998) *Murder Company (1999) *Boston Strangler (2002) *Dennis Nilsen (2008) *Greetings from Jonestown (2009) Splits *Doomsday Recitation (1998) with Eternal Elysium, Millarca and Berenice *Born Too Late (1998) with Sheavy *Iron Monkey / Church of Misery (1999) with Iron Monkey *Acrimony / Church of Misery (2003) with Acrimony *Church of Misery / Deer Creek (2006) with Deer Creek *Church of Misery / Sourvein (2006) with Sourvein *Sourvein / Church of Misery (2006) with Sourvein Live Albums *Live Beyond the East (1998) *Live at Roadburn 2009 (2010) Compilations *Early Works Compilation (2004) DVDs *Wizard's Convention (2005) with Boris, Eternal Elysium and Greenmachine *Houses of the Unholy (2007) *Live in Red, Eurotour 2005 (2006) *Terror in Tokyo (2013) Personnel , the sole surviving original member of Church of Misery, alongside then vocalist, Hideki Fukasawa, at 2012s Roadburn Festival.]] Current Members *'Tatsu Mikami' - Bass (1995 - Present) *'Junichi Yamamura' - Drums (2017 - Present) *'Yasuto Muraki' - Guitars (2017 - Present) *'Hiroyuki Takano' - Vocals (2017 - Present) Former Members *Hideki Shimizu - Drums (1995 - 2000) *Tomohiro Nishimura - Guitars (1995 - 2001) *Kazuhiro Asaeda - Vocals (1995 - 1996) *Nobukazu Chow - Vocals (1996 - 2000) *Junji Narita - Drums (2000 - 2014) *Yoshiaki Negishi - Vocals (2000 - 2004, 2009 - 2011) *Osamu Hamada - Guitars (2001) *Takenori Hoshi - Guitars (2002 - 2006) *Hideki Fukasawa - Vocals, Synthesizer (2004 - 2009, 2011 - 2014) *Tom Sutton - Guitars (2006 - 2010), Live Guitar (2011 - 2012) *Kensuke Suto - Guitars (2010 - 2011) *Ikuma Kawabe - Guitars (2012 - 2014) *Scott Carlson - Vocals (2015 - 2016) *Eric Little - Drums (2015 - 2016) *Dave Szulkin - Guitar (2015 - 2016) Tours NOTE: Tours from 1995 - 2004 will be documented when more information is found. Most of the bands tours can be sourced at the official website.Church of Misery's Official PageAccessed 7 August 2016 * The Second Coming European Tour 2005 (2005) * No Sleep Til' Halloween European Tour 2006 (With Sourvein)(2006) * Doom Age Festival Vol. 1 (With Orange Sunshine) (2007) * Eurotour 2007 (With Gonga; Canceled) (2007) * Church of Misery / The Hidden Hand Japan Tour (With The Hidden Hand; Canceled) (2007) * Doom Age Festival Vol. 2 (With Electric Wizard) (2007) * Doom Age Festival Vol. 3 (With Witchcraft) (2008) * Doom Age Festival Vol. 4 (With Blood Farmers and Ogre) (2008) * Doom Age Festival Vol. 5 (With Revelation) (2008) * European Tour 2009 (2009) * European Tour 2010 (with The Gates of Slumber, Cathedral, Death Row) (2010) * Retox & Nihilism Over Europe: Summer 2011 (With The Gates of Slumber, Eyehategod) (2011) * European Tour 2012 (2012) * North American Tour 2012 (With The Gates of Slumber, Hail!Hornet, Rwake) (2012) * Australian Tour 2013 (With Doomsday Festival) (2013) * North American Tour 2013 (2013) * Last Patrol European Tour (With Monster Magnet) (2014) * April European Tour 2014 (2014) * Summer European Tour 2014 (2014) * European Tour 2017 (2017) * European Tour 2018, Part 1 (2018) * European Tour 2018, Part 2 (Select dates with Bongzilla, Sons of Otis, Dopethrone (Band)) (2018)Church of Misery Facebook * Australia / New Zealand Tour 2018 (2018) * North American Tour 2019 (With Mondo Generator, Toke, The Atomic Bitchwax depending on dates) (2019) * European Tour 2019 (Select dates with Admiral Sir Cloudsley Shovell) (2019)Church of Misery Facebook * 25th Anniversary North American Tour (Select dates with Truckfighters, Valley of the Sun, Forming The Void, Black Wizard, Wizard Rifle) (2020)Church of Misery FacebookThe Obelisk External Links *Official Website *Original Website via Wayback Machine *Facebook References Category:Band Category:Shinjuku Category:Tokyo Category:Japan Category:Church of Misery Category:Doom Metal Category:Stoner Rock Category:1995